Swiss Review 6/2020

Swiss Review / November 2020 / No.6 23 Orchestral manoeuvres in the dark We end our expedition onmarshland near the edge of a forest in the Alpine foothills. Microphone in and head- phones on again. The tranquillity is promptly shattered. Immersed in a hitherto secret world, our perception shifts. We thought it was quiet, but now we hear a raucous orchestra of myriad elements. A citizen science project Since summer 2019, men and women around Switzerland have been stick- ingmicrophones into the ground dur- ing the warmer months of the year. They are taking part in Sounding Soil – a research project (see box) driven by input from experts and wannabe ex- perts like us. This grassroots approach – pun intended – has helped to comple- ment scientific findings. The biologist’s view Mites, fly larvae, woodlice, earth- worms, spiders, centipedes, spring- tails and beetles are just some of the tiny creatures making these sounds. But which sounds does each one make? Biologist Sabine Lerch of the Biovision foundation is responsible for the Sounding Soil project, but even she cannot give a definitive answer. “We don’t know. We are the first pro- ject worldwide to bring the sounds of the soil to life in this way. But our re- search has only just begun.” It is all about the fundamentals for now: “The more varied the sound, the more di- verse the range of creatures. Themore intensive the sound, the more active the mesofauna and microfauna.” Minute springtails (collembola) crawling through the compost – just one element in a subterranean orchestra consisting of mites, fly larvae, woodlice, earthworms, spiders, centipedes, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, etc. Photo: Marie Louise Huskens